


Reason 17

by trickydeepforest



Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: AU, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-17
Updated: 2017-01-17
Packaged: 2018-09-18 04:54:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,652
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9368831
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/trickydeepforest/pseuds/trickydeepforest
Summary: Jensen would like nothing better than for new customer Jared to be the reason his coffee shop goes out of business.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally posted on LiveJournal for the spn_j2_xmas exchange of 2012.
> 
> Warnings/Spoilers: mentions of past character death, brief mention of past non-violent homophobia. Um, no porn whatsoever.
> 
> Disclaimer: I'm using the names and likenesses of real people to populate my fictional story. I claim no knowledge of their actual words, thoughts or actions.

“You,” Danneel said matter-of-factly, “are going out of business. I’m willing to put money on it this time.” 

Jensen stopped loading mugs into the dishwasher to step around the corner, looking out into the seating area of the coffeehouse, where Danneel had just come from. It was late morning, in between the breakfast and lunch crowds, so he had no trouble picking out the cause of his predicted downfall. “Wow, yeah, I’m so not taking that bet. This place is going down. Please, please, please let it be for Reason 17.” 

“As long as it’s not for Reasons 18 or 19,” he heard Danneel mutter as she ushered him out to the front of the café.

From the very moment that Jensen announced to his friends that he intended to open the Java Jive, they had started listing reasons why his business would fail. The first few were broad and cynical, with Reasons 1 and 2 being that Jensen didn’t know the first thing about running a business and that small coffeehouses couldn’t survive against the monster that was Starbucks. Jensen countered by changing his major to business and making sure his café was distinctive, competitive and integrated into the local community. He took great pride in writing down their reasons why he couldn’t succeed and making sure he would prove them wrong.

Once his friends starting realizing that he had a legitimate shot at succeeding, their reasons for his business’ demise became more ridiculous, usually jabs at his personality or quirks, such as Reason 15, that he would drink the majority of his stock, or Reason 20, that he would give away too many desserts to customers that looked like they could use one. But Reason 17 was one of his favorites, that he would meet a hot guy and be so busy having wild sex that he would stop paying any attention to his business. As soon as that one was brought up it was immediately followed by 18, that he would get his heart broken and be too depressed to work, and 19, that he would be too flirty with a homophobic Neanderthal and get beaten into a coma.

As he got closer to the hot guy with shaggy dark brown hair, he started to suspect that if this customer was indeed his downfall, it might just be for Reason 20. The guy looked so *sad* Jensen almost started twitching with his desire to run back and get him a brownie, on the house. 

The man, who looked to be in his early twenties, a little younger than Jensen, was staring out the window though Jensen doubted that he was actually seeing anything. He projected an aura of loneliness, and Jensen suspected that wherever his mind was stuck right now was not a happy place. As he got closer to the table, he noticed that the guy’s coffee was practically full.

“Is everything alright with your coffee? If you don’t like it I can get you something else instead, free of charge.” The last three words just slipped out and Jensen had to force himself not to check over his shoulder to see if his friend Chris was within earshot. Chris was starting to get rather overly dramatic (if you asked Jensen) about his disapproval of Jensen’s propensity to give stuff away. His current lecture whenever he caught Jensen at it was at 27 minutes long. Jensen had timed it.

Hotty McSadface (oh god, he needed to make sure he never actually said that out loud in front of anybody) turned towards Jensen and blinked a few times, which Jensen wished he could attribute to the guy getting flustered at Jensen’s stunning good looks, but was more likely him just returning his mind to the present.

“I’m sorry, what did you say?”

“I asked if there was something wrong with your coffee. If we made a mistake, or if you ordered something it turns out you don’t like, I could get you something else.” He lasted less than five seconds. “On the house.”

The guy looked down at his coffee mug as if he had forgotten it was there. “No, no it’s fine. I was waiting for it to cool off a little, and I guess I got distracted.” He took a sip and his eyebrows lifted in surprise. “Wow, it’s actually really good. It’s been a while since I had coffee that I would drink for the taste, rather than just for the caffeine.”

“So you haven’t been in here before? I didn’t think I’d seen you around. I know all of our regulars, and probably about 75% of our irregulars too.” He hoped to get a smile with his stupid joke, but no luck. “I’m Jensen, by the way. The owner.” Jensen gave Hotty his most attractive, but not overly flirty smile (yes, he and Danneel practiced this sort of thing), and held out his hand to shake.

A very large hand (pleasepleaseplease let it be Reason 17) engulfed his. “Jared. This is an awesome place you have here. I’m visiting a friend, and she recommended it, so yeah, first time.”

“Oh? Who’s your friend?”

“Genevieve. Little thing, long brown hair?”

“Oh, we love Genevieve! Wicked sense of humor. Now that you mention it, she did say that her best friend was going to come and stay with her for awhile. I think I’m safe in assuming that’s you.” Jensen once again threw Jared his best smile, but while Jared did indeed smile back, it didn’t really reach his eyes. Jensen didn’t get any hint of unwelcome in Jared’s expression, but rather a sense that Jared was weighed down by unhappiness. And hadn’t Gen mentioned something about her best friend going through a bad time right now? One thing that he definitely hoped he remembered correctly was her mentioning that Jared was into guys.

“So, we’re kind of slow right now, and I was about to take my break. Mind if I sit with you for a few minutes? We don’t get very many new faces this time of year.” Jensen gestured outside to the swirling snow. “Not exactly tourist season.”

When Jared nodded his assent, Jensen excused himself to get a cup of coffee and two of Sophia’s gloriously overloaded brownies, Chris and his lectures be damned. Free desserts were a powerful therapy, and Jared could definitely use a pick me up.

It was as he was sitting back down that he remembered something Gen said about the reason for Jared’s visit. “So, Gen mentioned you a few times. She didn’t go into great detail but, well, I’m sorry about your mom.”

Jared looked down at his mug for a few moments. “Yeah. We knew it was coming, hell, there wasn’t a single part of it that was sudden, but it still manages to feel that way sometimes.”

“And I hope I’m not making her out to be the biggest gossip in the state, ‘cause it really wasn’t like that, but if I remember correctly you took care of your mom while she was sick, right? She was saying that’s why you hadn’t come to visit her at school yet, despite you being her lifelong BFF.” Jensen hoped he wasn’t pushing things. Working in a coffee shop was sometimes like tending bar, people wanted a friendly face to talk about their lives with. But he also knew some people were very private about their grief.

“Yeah, I’ve been taking care of her for the last three years, pretty much non-stop. It’s strange to not have to worry about listening for her to call for me, or checking in on her every few hours if I don’t hear from her.”

“That sounds exhausting. It sounds like you were about the best son she could have asked for.” 

Jared gave him a hint of a smile. “Thanks. I should be going though. Gen is getting out of class, and I told her I’d meet her on campus.”

Jensen offered to put his coffee in a take-out cup, and watched Jared leave from his spot behind the counter. Sadly, it looked like Reason 17 was unlikely at this point. 

<><>

Jensen looked up from refilling the tray of blueberry scones to find Genevieve standing at the counter, unwinding her five-foot long scarf from around her head. She gave him a big smile, which he automatically returned.

“Hey Jensen! Have I ever mentioned how glad I am that your shop is on the direct path between campus and my apartment?”

“Only every time you come in here to warm up when the weather’s bad. You staying for a few minutes? I can throw your scarf in the dryer for you.” He wouldn’t make the offer to all of his customers, but Gen had been coming in for years. Living above your business had its perks, including easy access to a clothes dryer. 

Plus, he wanted a chance to casually ask her about Jared. He hadn’t been able to get the guy out of his head since meeting him yesterday morning. He waited for Gen to shake the excess snow out of her scarf, took it upstairs to put in the dryer, and got her settled with her coffee before launching his subtle interrogation. 

“So, where’s Jared today?” Ok, so subtle wasn’t his middle name.

Gen gave him a wicked grin. “Saw something you like, did you? I told you he was awesome.” Her grin scaled back to more of a wistful smile. “He’s back at my place, probably sleeping.” She sipped her coffee for a moment, considering him over the rim of her mug. 

Apparently she came to some kind of decision. “Actually, I was hoping you could help me. It’s about Jared. I think he might be depressed. Maybe not a full scale clinical depression, but heading in that direction. You remember I told you that his mom just passed? Well, he’s been taking care of her night and day since he got out of high school. Had to ignore all of his college acceptance letters, has no job experience. And his dad-”

Jensen interrupted her, as much as he wanted to know every detail he could get. “Are you sure you should be telling me this? I don’t want Jared to get mad at us for talking about him behind his back.”

Gen gave a small shake of her head. “I’m not going to give you any of the sordid details, but I want you to know the overall picture. Jared and his dad have never been close, and now that his mom’s gone, he can’t stay there anymore. So he has no job, no place to live and no direction. I’m one of the only friends he’s still in contact with.

“Now, none of this would be a huge problem with the Jared I knew a few years ago. He’s smart, capable, friendly and determined. But at the moment I can barely get him to leave my apartment. He’s sleeping about fourteen hours a day.”

“He did seem rather sad and distracted.” Jensen offered when Gen trailed off. “How do you think I can help him?”

“Are you kidding? You’re like the master of helping people figure out how to be happy. I know you’re not a counselor, but I think he just needs to find his passion for life again, or at least something to get his mind off of his problems for a few minutes. I promise if he doesn’t seem to be improving soon I’ll force him to get professional help.”

“All right, well, why don’t you try to get him to Chris’s show tonight? I’ll see what I can do.”

<><>

On Friday and Saturday nights the coffee shop had live music, and about a third of the time that meant Chris and Steve. They were both Jensen’s good friends and local favorites, and Jensen was forever grateful for that happy coincidence. Chris usually started the show with his most soulful ballads, Steve would join him for a more energetic second set, and then would stick around for his own solo set at the end. 

Chris was in the middle of his second song when Genevieve and Jared came through the door. Jensen had been inconspicuously saving them the table farthest from the stage, so that he and Jared could hear each other over the music. He caught Gen’s eye and motioned them over, greeting them warmly. After they had finished their coffees and desserts (which Jensen let them pay for, despite the fact that Chris probably couldn’t see them from the stage) Jensen joined them at their table, making friendly small talk for a few minutes until Gen decided to get closer to the stage to make mockingly adoring faces at Chris (the two of them had an interesting friendship). Jensen watched her weave her way through the small crowd for a moment before turning back to Jared.

“So, how are you liking our little town so far?”

“It’s nice. I can see why Gen likes it so much.” Jared tipped his chin towards the stage. “He’s pretty good. Gen said he was a friend of yours?”

“Yeah, we’ve known each other since freshman year. He’s kind of like the protective big brother I don’t really think I need.”

“So, is his playing here you helping him out or him helping you?”

“Both, I would say. He’s not ready to try and make music his sole source of income, but this lets him try out new music and fulfills his need to perform. Luckily he’s also really popular, and we never have a slow night when he’s playing.” Jensen studied Jared’s profile as Jared watched Chris strum his guitar and make silly kissy faces at Gen standing in the front row. “Actually, that’s one of the main reasons I was sure I could make a coffee shop successful. Most of my close friends are creative and I have a mutually beneficial relationship with them.” When Jared turned back to look at him, clearly interested, Jensen hoped he was on the right path.

“Danneel loves interior design, and after she’d already decorated her apartment to death, I let her have pretty much free reign over design decisions here. The cozy bohemian atmosphere is a good fit for a college town, and it lets her make small changes whenever she needs a new project. And then there’s Sophia, who loves to bake, and was making all of us fat. She supplies all the desserts that we sell here, and has actually expanded to supplying a few other local businesses. We have a few other friends who are artists in their spare time and we display and sell pieces for them.” Jensen waited until Chris finished his current song, and let the applause die down before starting in on the plan he and Gen had discussed. “So, what about you? Any creative hobbies?”

“No, not really. I used to enjoy photography in high school, but I don’t even own a camera anymore.”

“Wait, does that mean you know how to use one of those complicated cameras? The ones with the dial?”

He actually got a laugh out of Jared for that one. “You mean an SLR? Yeah, I know how to use one. I’m no expert, but I remember the basics.”

Jensen gave him a hopeful grin. “Do you think you could show me a few things? I bought one when I opened this place, but I don’t have the time or the patience to read the manual, and all of my photos look about as professional as the snapshots my grandma takes at family gathering with her point and shoot.” All of this was true. Turns out that a fancy camera didn’t magically grant Jensen the amazing photography skills that he wanted but didn’t ever get around to working on. “It’s actually just in my office, do you mind if I grab it?”

When Gen had mentioned that Jared used to be rather obsessive about photography back in high school, Jensen made sure that his camera was charged and readily accessible. He brought it back to the table and handed it to Jared. 

“Ok, the first thing you have to know about photography is that it’s all about light. Without enough light you don’t have a very good picture. The amount of light coming in depends on three things: aperture, shutter speed, and ISO. The ISO used to be the number of the film that you loaded, 100 speed for sunny shots, and maybe 400 for indoor. The lower numbers make for sharper images, so unless you want it to look grainy for artistic purposes, you want to go with the lowest number that you can. See this button here? That lets you change the ISO digitally, since you’re not using film.” Jared got more animated the longer he talked, leading Jensen through changing shutter speeds and f-stops. Finally Jensen had to stop him with a laugh.

“I think that’s all I can absorb in one sitting.”

“But we haven’t even gotten to the lenses yet.” And damn, that small pout made Jensen want to kiss it away. 

“I’m sorry, but I’m pretty sure by this point that photography isn’t secretly a hidden talent of mine. I’m going to need a few more lessons before I’m comfortable putting it on any setting but completely automatic.” Step one of his plan had gone pretty well. Time for step two.

“You know, I’ve been promising Chris for months that I would get a decent shot of him performing, something we could use for the website or flyers. At the rate I’m going it will be another year before I’m capable of fulfilling that promise. Any chance you’d be willing to see what you can do with my camera?”

Jared blushed and looked down. “It’s been so long, I don’t really think I’d be very good at it.”

“So? It’s not like you’re wasting film. If nothing turns out we’ll just delete them. I mean, if you don’t want to, that’s fine, I just don’t know anybody else who’s used anything other than a camera phone in years, and I’m getting a little sick of Chris nagging me about this.”

Jared chuckled at that. “He’s a whiner, huh? Well, maybe I can get a few shots of him making those ridiculous faces at Gen; give you some blackmail material at least.” He reached for the camera again, and started moving through the menu screens.

“Oh,” Jensen added casually, “If you could get a few shots of the crowd as well, that would be great.”

<><>

Jensen spent the next couple of hours manning the counter and keeping an eye on Jared. The man moved around almost constantly, trying different angles, taking shots of Chris and eventually Steve, as well as Gen and quite a few other regulars. Jensen saw him stop and chat for a while with some of the other customers, and Jensen started to see Jared as Gen had described him instead of the sad, withdrawn person Jensen had met the other day.

After the stage was empty, and the customers were mostly gone, Jensen went back to Jared and Gen’s table, where they were looking at the photos on the camera’s tiny screen.

“You guys can borrow my laptop, if you want to get a better look, or you can just take the camera with you, look at them back at Gen’s.”

Jared bit his lip for a second, causing Jensen’s brain to make a brief foray into Reason 17 fantasies. “Do you mind, Gen? I’m kind of impatient to see if these shots really turned out the way I meant them to.”

Gen wrapped her arm around his back and gave him a quick hug. “Of course not, sweetie. I’m pretty eager to see them too. Don’t think I didn’t notice you taking about a hundred shots of me.”

“That’s because you were making such interesting faces at Chris. Very photogenic, I assure you,” Jared said with an almost straight face, and then broke into a giant, teasing grin after Gen smacked him. Jensen had to recover for a moment after the brilliance of that smile, before going to grab his laptop and camera cord.

“So I’m going to go finish cleaning up. Let me know when you’re finished. And if there’s any that you like enough to show me, just download them into a file on the laptop.”

<><>

After about a half hour of closing things down and overhearing Gen’s excited exclamations, Jared called him over. Jensen expected to see photos up on the laptop screen for him to see, and was disappointed to see the laptop shut. He hoped that didn’t mean that Jared hadn’t liked any of his photos, but he was careful not to let any worry show on his face. “All done? Did you get any good ones?”

Jared exchanged a quick look with Genevieve. “I think so. I saved them on your computer for you to look at later. Thanks for letting me use your camera. I didn’t realize how much I’d missed having one in my hands.”

“No problem, man. Will I see you guys again soon? Tomorrow’s my day off, technically, but if I can’t find anything better to do you can usually find me hanging out here anyway.” 

“I actually have a huge project due on Monday that I have to work on all day tomorrow. So not only will I be very boring company, but it would be easier for me to concentrate if you could maybe find something to do for a while tomorrow.” Genevieve batted her eyelashes at Jared in an exaggerated plea.

This wasn’t something he and Gen had planned ahead of time, but it worked out perfectly. He wondered if she really did have a big project to work on. “Hey, you want me to show you a few of my favorite places tomorrow? I used to love playing tourist in my own town, but it’s been a few years since I’ve had anybody to show around.”

Jared gave him a small smile. “That sounds like fun.”

They made plans to meet up in the morning, and then Jensen was locking up behind them. He waited as long as he could (about three minutes) before booting up his laptop and opening the first photo.

“Wow.” There was Chris, passion clear on his face as he sang, eyes closed. The background was nicely blurred, Chris’s face in sharp focus, clearly lit. Nothing like the underexposed, blurry shots Jensen had managed to take so far. As he continued to click through the photos that Jared had saved, he was happy to see that Jared did indeed have talent, and not just technical knowledge. The photos were well composed and managed to convey a strong mood. There were about thirty images saved, while Jensen was pretty sure that Jared had taken over a hundred photos, possibly two hundred. Smiling to himself, Jensen finished cleaning up and went upstairs to get ready for bed, looking through the photos three more times before he finally shut the computer down for the night.

<><>

Jensen made sure to have the camera’s battery recharged before he went down to the café to meet Jared in the morning. He filled a couple of travel mugs up with coffee, black for him and super sweet and light for Jared, and they headed out in Jensen’s car. Luckily it was a pretty mild day, temperature-wise, although he was glad it was cold enough to make Jared wear a knit hat, because it looked really, really cute on him.

He managed to wait for a few miles, wondering if Jared would bring it up first, before giving in. Maybe he shouldn’t have felt so insulted when his friends doubted his ability to run a successful business, since he seemed to have serious self control problems sometimes. “So I looked at your photos, and I have to say, they’re pretty awesome. Exactly what I was hoping for.”

He saw Jared break out into a huge grin before he turned his face away. “Yeah? I’m glad you liked them. Sorry for the lack of goofy Chris pictures. I swear he has a sixth sense for knowing exactly when a camera is pointed at him.”

“That man has quite a few totally unexplainable abilities that border on the supernatural, so I’m not surprised. So, like I said, we were hoping to use some of the photos for the café’s website, as well as Chris’s website for his music, and possibly some flyers. Plus there were a few that I wanted to frame for the walls. I think there were about ten that I really want to use. I don’t have a huge budget for this, but do you think twenty dollars each is reasonable?”

Jared whipped around to look at him in surprise. “You want to pay me for the photos that I took with your camera? You can use them however you want, they’re yours.”

Jensen waited until he was able to park the car before turning to address Jared. “Dude, if it wasn’t for you I wouldn’t have those pictures. It was your time and effort, not to mention talent, and I’d only feel right to pay you for them.”

Jared was quiet for a minute. “How about you pay me for any of the ones that you use on the websites or the flyers, but not ones that you’re just framing.”

Jensen sighed in mock exasperation. “Fine, on one condition.” He turned and pulled the camera out of the bag he had thrown in the back seat and passed it to Jared. “I want you to borrow this for the rest of the time you’re in town. Get me some good shots of our adventures today.”

Jared turned the camera over in his hands a few times. “Thanks, Jensen,” he said quietly.

“Now, come on. The aquarium here is pretty awesome. They have baby seahorses.”

“That does sound pretty awesome. Lead the way, tour guide.”

<><>

After the aquarium, Jensen showed Jared his favorite used record store, where they spent a good hour comparing favorite albums and mocking each other’s guilty pleasure artists. The longer they were out the more outgoing Jared became, until Jensen could see no hint of the quiet, withdrawn boy he had first met. 

And the more he saw of the real Jared, the more he knew that this was someone he could fall in love with. Jensen hadn’t had very many serious relationships in the past. Most of the guys he met were in college, and not looking for anything long term. Jensen was waiting for someone that he could build a life with, not someone who still considered frat parties a major priority. And while a few older, more professional men had caught his eye, he had never felt a lot of chemistry with any of them. And if there was one thing that Jensen believed in, it was a need for passion in any serious undertaking.

After they had finished off their burgers and fries at Jensen’s favorite diner, Jensen decided he needed to add a step to his plan, now that Jared seemed to have come out of his cloud of despair.

“Have I told you how I came to start Java Jive? I actually started out as a physical therapy major. I wanted to help people, but I knew I didn’t have the drive to be a doctor. Made it to my third year when we started having some interaction with patients, and I found out I hated it. Sure, there were a few people who were nothing but grateful for the help, but for the most part all I heard was how horrible everything was – the pain, the limitations of their injuries, the cost of medical treatment. And I’m not blaming them, I’m sure I’d have done the same in their situation, but it turns out I’m not built to be around that much negativity. It was making me so miserable that most of my friends didn’t want to be around me anymore. 

“Chris finally called me out, I believe the term he used was “cranky bastard”, and told me that if I hated it so much to do something else. Which is all fine and good, until you’re trying to figure out just what that something else is. So a bunch of us were laying around, brainstorming and not coming up with a damn thing, when Danneel said “if only you were as passionate about something as you are about your freaking coffee.” Because I’m a miserable, semi-conscious cretin until I get my first dose of caffeine in the morning.

“And after weeks of wondering if I would ever find something I was passionate about, one throwaway comment made it so obvious to me. I really did love coffee, and that was something I could see myself doing long term. So I switched my major to business, finally convinced my friends I wasn’t being a complete flake, and now here I am.”

Jared gave him a crooked grin when he was finished. “For the record, I’m pretty sure I would have thought you were a complete flake as well.” 

Jensen threw a french fry at him. “So do you have any idea what you want to do now? Gen mentioned that you haven’t really been able to work, since you had to stay with your mom.”

Jared sighed, and ate the fry projectile. “I’d like to go to college. My mom always wanted me to go, hated the fact that she was keeping me from going. But not just because of her. I don’t think I’d be very happy in the kind of jobs that you can get when you only have a high school diploma.”

“You could go for photography, you seem to have a passion for it.”

Jared frowned slightly. “I do, but I don’t think I want to go to school for it. Back in high school I remember there was a big difference between the happiness I felt when I was just messing around with the camera versus when I had to take specific photos for class. I wouldn’t mind selling the occasional photo here or there, but I don’t think I’d like having to constantly meet other people’s expectations.” 

“Well, I’m sure we can find something you’d be happy doing. Turns out my friends are excellent brainstormers.”

Jared laughed at him, and Jensen found a surprise reserve of self control to not lean over the table to kiss him. He still hadn’t completed step three of his plan.

Jensen didn’t want to bring up what Gen had said about Jared being homeless right now, so he sidestepped it. “Do you know how long you’re staying in town? I know you don’t have a job to get back to, but I guess you’ll need to go home and look for one eventually.” 

That made Jared turn serious again. “I don’t know what I’m going to do. I need a job, and a place to live, and that’s all got to happen before the big college plan.”

“You can’t stay with your dad while you go to school?”

“My dad and I were never close. He’s not really a very lovable guy. I honestly have no idea what my mom ever saw in him. And it all got worse when he walked in on me kissing another boy when I was sixteen. If it were up to him he probably would have kicked me out right then, but he did love my mom and knew she wouldn’t forgive him for that. But it was generally understood that once I left for college I was never to move back. And then my mom got sick my senior year. By the time summer came she needed a full time caregiver. All three of us were more comfortable with it being me rather than a stranger. So except for an aide that came in to help her bathe twice a week, I did everything for her.

And then when she died, my dad told me that I had a month to move out. He gave me five thousand dollars and said he’d pay to send me my stuff, but then he never wanted to see me again.”

“Oh, Jared. I’m so sorry.” Jensen’s new found pool of self control was shallower than he expected, and he couldn’t help but cover Jared’s hand with his own. To his delight, Jared turned his hand over and intertwined their fingers.

“It’s ok. Like I said, we were never close. I’m not one of those people who secretly yearns for their father’s love and approval. I don’t really like the man. It’s just hard to suddenly find myself homeless and jobless, with no degree.”

Jensen squeezed Jared’s hand. “Well, I think you should stay here then. At least here you have Gen, and you have me. And one shot of those puppy dog eyes I’ve seen you use and Danneel and Sophia will be trying to adopt you.”

Jared studied his face for a moment. “Gen’s gonna get tired of me crashing at her place sooner or later.”

“Gen loves you, and isn’t going to kick you out to sleep in your car.” Jensen left money on the table and they walked out of the diner. Jensen didn’t let go of Jared’s hand, and Jared made no attempt to break the hold. “And if she really needs a break, you can come and bunk with me for awhile.”

And when Jared pushed him up against the wall outside the diner and kissed him, Jensen had a brief thought that Reason 17 would totally be worth the loss of his business, before the ability to think left him completely.


End file.
